Wine By Nine

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. Color: Dark ruby/purple Aroma: A captivating and refined nose with well-integrated aromas of blackberries, violets and roasted coffee beans. Taste: Elegance and crystal purity characterize this extremely complex and densely woven wine with an aging potential of decades. Complex, fresh aromas of concentrated blackberry, grilled meat and chocolate. Full-bodied and chewy, with caressing tannins and a long, long finish. A brick house and beautifully decorated. Powerful. Best after 2012. Wine Spectator 97 Points The 2004 Costa Russi is irresistibly sexy and opulent. As is typically the case, the wine is more overtly fruit-driven, with a round, supple personality. Sweet, long and richly-textured, it is just plain awesome in its display of generous, vibrant fruit, tar, smoke, minerals and herbs. It is the finest Costa Russi yet. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2024. -Wine Advocate

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. The word Sor? means a hilltop with a southern exposure. Tild?n was the nickname of Angelo Gaja's grandmother, Clothilde Rey. She was a visionary who was instrumental in acquiring some of the choicest parcels for the Gaja Estate, as well as being the inspiration behind Angelo's continuous quest to innovate. Deep purple. Complex aromas of toast, minerals, sour cherries, cedar and spices. Displays the roundest tasting profile of all Gaja single-vineyard wines. The rich body, subtle texture and fine, ripe tannins are typical for this wine of great finesse, the quintessential expression of the land and the Nebbiolo grape. This wine has extraordinary aging potential--more than forty years in outstanding vintages.

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. Aged 12 months in barriques; plus an additional year in large oak casks. Of all Gaja single-vineyard wines, Costa Russi often shows the most captivating and refined nose. Elegance and crystal purity characterize this extremely complex and densely woven wine with an aging potential of decades.

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. Color: Dark ruby/purple. Aroma: A captivating and refined nose with well-integrated aromas of blackberries, violets and roasted coffee beans. Taste: Elegance and crystal purity characterize this extremely complex and densely woven wine with an aging potential of decades Plenty of fresh blackberry and cherry aromas follow through to a full-bodied palate, with fine tannins and a chewy finish. Well-structured for the vintage. Very fresh and lively. Best after 2008. Wine Spectator 94 Points

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. The 2003 Sori San Lorenzo is simply awesome. Boasting the darkest color of these wines as well as captivating aromatics, it is a brooding effort packed with notes of earthiness, tar, smoke, grilled herbs, cassis, licorice and super-ripe plummy fruit. It shows the qualities of 2003 in its full-throttle, expansive style yet it also possesses remarkable balance as well as fine tannins for the vintage. Although there is a little heat on the finish, I found this an utterly compelling wine. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2020. -Wine Advocate Almost always the most powerful and austere of Gaja's 5 single-vineyard wines, requiring a longer time to fully develop. Highly concentrated currant and black cherry fruit with a hint of coffee in addition to aromas of fine herbs, minerals and exotic spices. A very focused, concentrated wine with a long, lingering finish and refined tannins, it has excellent aging potential.

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. Sperss displays the austere character typical of Serralunga terroir: deep structure and lots of ripe tannins. The nose shows a dark, pure and very focused fruit with classic hints of tar, licorice and a touch of truffles.

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. Color: Garnet Aroma: The nose is almost sensual in its complexity, with aromas of forest fruits, plums, licorice, mineral and coffee scents. Taste: Long, complex finish with fine, silk-like tannins and good acidity; dense structure, full of super-ripe fruit. Gaja's 2003 Barbaresco may well challenge its bigger siblings as the most successful of these new releases. Made in a style that combines expressive aromatics, the ripeness of the vintage and classic structure, it is an awesome effort. Though it offers plenty of super-ripe fruit and notable concentration, it never comes across as being heavy and displays exceptional overall balance. -The Wine Advocate

Red Wine by Gaja from Piedmont, Italy. Color: Garnet Aroma: The nose is almost sensual in its complexity, with aromas of forest fruits, plums, licorice, mineral and coffee scents. Taste: Long, complex finish with fine, silk-like tannins and good acidity; dense structure, full of super-ripe fruit. The 2004 Barbaresco reveals fresh, perfumed aromatics that lead to layers of crushed flowers, spices and sweet raspberries. This is a wine of rare class, elegance and pure breed. It offers outstanding length and silky, elegant tannins to round out the inviting finish. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2024. -Wine Advocate

Red Wine by Ceretto from Piedmont, Italy. The estate's top Barbaresco is the Bricco Asili. Made from vines that are over 25 years old and aged in 100% new oak, the 2001 displays a deep color and is darker, richer and more concentrated than the Bernardot, with notes of licorice, tobacco and spices dominating the nose. On the palate it is masculine, austere and balsamic, with flavors of dark fruits and plums, finishing with chewy tannins. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2021 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 92 Points

Red Wine by Giacosa from Piedmont, Italy. The 2001 Barolo Falletto displays a more deeply colored, rich translucent ruby color. It opens with a sweet, balsamic nose of spices, oak, and minerals, and is packed with layers of deep, dark fruit that gradually open to reveal themselves on a big, strapping frame, with outstanding length and a beautiful note of freshness to cap off the finish. An Azienda Agricola Falletto di Bruno Giacosa bottling. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2023. -Wine Advocate

Red Wine by Ceretto from Piedmont, Italy. A complex, ethereal bouquet with hints of dog-rose, violet and liquorice. With its caressing, dry taste, in the mouth this wine highlights the excellence in the range of Barbarescos. Though it is capable of exciting the taste-buds after just a year in the bottle, the sensations are sure to increase on ageing: we recommend 3 to 15 years.

Red Wine by Pio Cesare from Piedmont, Italy. Ornato is the name of the estate vineyard owned by the Pio family in Serralunga d'Alba. Ornato is more modern in style than Pio Cesare's traditional Barolo, but still true to its roots. The characteristics of the soil, the microclimate and favourable exposure, allows the grapes to become extremely rich. Fermentation at a slightly higher temperature, together with skin maceration for 12 days, produces a wine with great soft tannins. The first Barolo Ornato was produced in 1985. Since then, it has only been produced in outstanding years. Barolo Ornato has a deep crimson red color and its nose exhibis intense fruit scents. On the palate, the tannins are fat and found, yet also mellow and elegant. Concentrated flavors of ripe fruit previal with subtle hints of tobacco, chocolate and pepper, culminating in a rich finish.